Skull Prison
by Piccylo
Summary: Sasuke walks across a dream of the Uchiha compound to a desk with six folders. These folders trap him and force him to watch tragedies play out with the only people living he can call friends as unwilling characters. --There's a huge hunk of Kakashi/Rin--


Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto, not affiliated with Viz, Disney, Toei, Shonen Jump, or Kishimoto. Rated for violence, torture, general disturbing stuff, some things of sexual nature (including the more forced versions), and profanity.

This is a **One Shot** that I've written for you all to enjoy, though it was meant for Halloween. You guys get to read it on FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH instead, which is just as super-awesome. Also, there's a huge chunk (about two-thirds of the whole story) of KakashixRin in it because apparently I can't write Naruto fics without KakashixRin. Blame Kishimoto for not explaining that far yet.

* * *

_"__Stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage…"_

_Richard Lovelace_

.-.-.

The sharp pain that knocked Sasuke out was pretty precise. He only felt the impact straight before he fell into blackness.

.

.

.

.

After an eternity, the blackness started to subside, little by little, dividing into shapes and figures, slowly revealing a landscape in the night. No, it wasn't just a landscape; there were buildings forming. The buildings faded into familiarity soon enough. The Uchiha Compound. Freshly broken and bloodied, just like that night… except…

…Corpses…

There were no corpses.

Sasuke didn't know what to take this dream as. Of course it looked like the precursor for a usual nightmare, but that would mean that he'd see strewn dead about the compound. But that wasn't the case. There wasn't a soul. It was completely still. Dead quiet. He looked up to the sky. The clouds wafted by the moon lazily, so, so slowly. They looked like real clouds that were shaped like the stylized clouds from prints… a very bizarre state. The leaves, silhouetted black against the starlight, moved without sound as if their rustle was deafened out by thrumming silence. It made the leaves seem so far away… Wait, did the trees really grow so much higher than the electrical poles back then?

He found himself walking idly, more out of curiosity and confusion than any real drive. His steps, despite the silence, had a moderate volume. Not echoing, not soft or silent… just steps. Nor did he hone in on his breathing and heartbeat. The scene felt eerie just for how incomplete it was. It felt wrong.

A soft murmur of voices edged up from the background, and he stopped, trying to figure out where it was coming from. At first he thought it was whirling around him at all directions, but the vague sound was coming from the main house. He followed it, up the steps, into the house, through the rooms, and to the trap door leading to the secret room below. He started down, the sound appropriately getting louder and louder, almost shouting but never coherent, and he realized he should have made a light with how dark it was. His feet touched the dirt floor of the hidden room. Murmuring stopped.

Light that he didn't see before now glowed as if it was always there from the two flickering pyres on either side of the room. But near the back center of the room, the tablet that should have been there was missing. Instead, there was a wooden office desk. A man reclined in a chair behind it… Sasuke couldn't see his face for the shadows, though the flames shine against this man's hitai-ate: it was smooth, blank.

_This is a weird dream, _Sasuke decided. He approached the man in attempt to see him a little better. He saw a non-descript ninja uniform, but his features were still hidden.

"I wondered when you would come here. I guess it's better you come now than trying to break into the village to read that useless rock with your Mangekyou."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I'm not trying to offend; that's not my job. I'm merely here to inform. Your sights are misguided, and you're vision is getting warped. At this rate, you'll quite definitely turn blind."

Sasuke's brows furrowed. "I know. If I overuse the Mangekyou, right?"

"No, that's not what I'm talking about. You are so convinced of your tragedy and rights by that tragedy that you're attempting to completely centralize yourself and… well, you know. I mean, that Nagato was a lost cause. Sucks to be him, but he was so blind he let a smarter man lead him next to the cliff."

"What are you babbling about?"

The man sighed and shook his head. "No need to be so curt with me, Sasuke. I'm here with information." He gestured to the assortment of folders on the desk before him. "These are the most appropriate for you. Take a pick and read. Genuine classified documents, some need very high-level security clearance, and almost all of these would normally be heavily censored. I toiled quite a bit to get them and categorize them. You should take advantage."

Sasuke wasn't sure what was going on, but he examined the folders: The thinnest was your average decorative folder, pink in color with a stylized cherry tree in blossom on it. Next was a set of documents in protective, translucent blue plastic. Then there were two zipped-up trappers that school kids would likely have, one red and purple, the other orange and blue. A fattened, khaki-colored expanding file sealed with a bright orange thread looked particularly impressive. But the biggest was a huge, thick binder, its panels made of wood and painted gray. He picked up the smallest folder, if only because it seemed the most mismatched.

Opening it, he found that the first pocket had substantially fewer papers, and his eyes wandered over the documents until a name popped out.

Haruno Sakura.

Flipping through the pages, he saw they were all about missions and troubles that Sakura had. Flashing before his eyes was the missions they'd shared and the chuunin test. But as he searched through the second pocket, he found that these were all things that had happened to her after he'd left and yet… Images still flashed. He slowed down, and found him witnessing nearly an entire mission he'd not taken part in.

He saw her fight in Sunagakure to rescue Gaara from the Akatsuki. He saw her nearly kill herself going against the puppet-user Sasori, saw the old woman Chiyo killing that Akatsuki member—who turned out to be her own grandson—with puppets made from his parents, her son and daughter-in-law. And he saw the old woman give up her life to bring Gaara back, even though her beloved grandson, who she originally developed the powerful life-giving jutsu she for, was dead in his puppet parents' arms.

Sasuke shut the folder, immensely disturbed. The man in the room had changed to the basic shape of the old woman from that mission, Chiyo. The hitai-ate had a crudely-scratched-in hourglass.

He threw the folder down on the desk. "What is this? Some kind of joke?"

"Didn't like that one?" Chiyo's voice said, though still using the tone and manner of the man before. It didn't sound right. "Why not pick another one? Each folder has files pertaining to someone important to you."

"There isn't anyone important to me! They're all dead!"

"Well, if that was true, why are you so angry?"

Sasuke gave a snort and turned away. This was stupid, and he had no intention of playing a stupid game like this in his own dreams. He wanted to leave, but he couldn't see the exit anymore; it was likely not there. There wasn't an escape yet.

"Just try a different folder, mm? Your friend Naruto has had some interesting times. That orange-blue trapper is pretty full. Or maybe your three current comrades?"

So he had to play this stupid game, didn't he? Sasuke turned back around and snatched up the expanding file instead, unwinding the orange string angrily and pulling out the first paper his fingers touched.

A terrible murder scene burst out in front of him. Bodies of men, women, and children were strewn about, mostly in pieces, a few of them just terribly broken. It was broad daylight, and a hot sun seared down from above, battering this massacre with its oppression, the heat making the smell of sundered corpses rise into Sasuke's nose. He gagged and his eyes watered. The slaughter, one in broad daylight, was far more grotesque than the things he'd seen personally thus far. Were any of these victims even shinobi?

It was hard to identify the area this occurred from sight, but a very precise indication of the coordinates for the area was written on the report, so he did have a basic idea of where he was in relation to places he knew better. This area was in the more Western part of the continent. He heard a woman screaming, and he squinted, wiping his eyes.

Jugo had his back to Sasuke, but the former leaf ninja was still able to recognize that it was undeniably him without seeing his face. His unique Curse Seal was fully activated, and his personality was as murderous as ever. His gray, scaly skin and bony frame churned muscles under his shirt as he did his work… And this work was mercilessly thrashing a pregnant woman against a boulder.

She wasn't a ninja either, that Sasuke could tell, but she was very developed in her pregnancy… Sasuke didn't know much about those sorts of things, but she was well into her third trimester. She cried again and again for him to stop with a pitiful, hoarse voice. Each hit forced the air out of her, making her pleas staccato. His sharp nails clenched her legs, tearing bigger and bigger holes in her calves every time he slammed her. Her arms tried to cushion the impact to her body and face, but their bones would soon enough be crushed and broken, torn ragged, for the effort, left to flail uselessly like tatters of a mangled flag as he continued waving her.

Sasuke watched as one of the hits dented her swollen abdomen inwards, which caused an ear-ravaging shriek. Jugo was laughing with maniacal joy, mixing atonally with her scratchy, fading screams. How did she even remain _conscious_ through this whole experience? _Why_ did she remain conscious? Wouldn't it be better if she succumbed instead of enduring this? He threw her against the stone again and again until she was nothing more than a limp, soggy rag doll, then tossed her aside. She went through the air contorting unnaturally and landed with a wet thud.

With this, the victims at Jugo's disposal were exhausted and the Curse Seal crept away from Jugo's body. The remaining man stood alone and silent for a long while, looking over the work he'd just done and the crime he'd committed, picturesque of a common scene in war dramas, where the Last Man Standing surveyed the field after the brutal struggle, finding himself just as broken as those who littered the ground. After a heavy silence, a great sob shook his chest, and he fell to the ground, holding his head and shaking. Rocking. Whimpering rueful words to himself and Anyone that could be watching over him and his sins.

This paper Sasuke actually slung away instead of returning it to the expanding file, but the expanding file joined it soon enough against the wall. What was this? Some sort of joke? Was this person before him trying to prove a _point?_ What possible use would it be to torment him with… _this?_

"That's enough!" He shouted. "Why do I need to see these things?!"

"It's healthy."

"Healthy?!"

The ninja was now the pregnant woman from that last scene. A hitai-ate remained on her head but had no etchings… just an eighth-note drawn on it in blood. "Sure. It's healthy to know what sort of horrors people have experienced if you're going to compare your own horrors to everyone else. It's healthy to see real death and destruction that isn't associated with you, so that you don't see your own personal tortures every time you chance upon someone else's. Police know that. The Uchiha were police, weren't they?"

If his current captor had retained his previous look as a man in shadow, Sasuke would have throttled him and ended that dream right there, at least able to wake up with some sense of dignity and accomplishment. However, after what he just saw, there was no way he could bring himself to do something like that while he had the guise of that victim. Even though he knew it was just a fake, that it wasn't any more poignant than someone in a _henge no jutsu_, he couldn't do it. She reached over, smiling, and tapped a nailed finger on the thick binder.

"This one has my favorite report. It's a big one, and still has a lot of censored data despite my best efforts. But it's still a fascinating read."

"Who's is it?"

Her lips parted as the grin grew, showing off-white teeth and gums that were bleeding a little. "Can't you guess?"

He thought on it. The pink folder had Sakura's files. The expanding gray folder had Jugo's. The ninja himself (herself?) confirmed that the orange-and-blue trapper pertained to Naruto. The other trapper was likely Karin, and a glance at the translucent one showed Suigetsu's name. Who was left?

"...Kakashi-sensei?"

She brought her hand up to her face and tapped her nose.

Sasuke stared down at the binder, regarding it almost reverently. This belonged to Kakashi? Someone who was so frustratingly mysterious that Sasuke actually a few days out of time he could have been training to shadow just to see his face? Someone who, when introducing himself to his genin team, said "I don't feel like telling you my likes or dislikes, and I have lots of hobbies," when he ordered the rest of them to identify such things to him? Despite all the time he spent with his sensei and all that he learned _from_ him, he learned very little about him.

Except, _"Those people have already been killed."_ He said that with such a peaceful look.

Sasuke reached out and touched the binder and slowly opened the top flap. The first page was a blank coversheet.

"The big one is about seven-tenths of the way in. I've even marked it with a yellow post-it. See?"

Sasuke wanted to look at everything. He was sure that how Kakashi had come to obtain that Sharingan had to be in here, among other things that might explain his behavior, even why he wears that mask all the time. But it was still a huge file, and searching through... might be a little more than he could handle at once, he admitted. So, against his better judgment, he slipped his fingers between the pages where the post-it sat and threw it open.

Black lines filled the page, along with several omissions with the words "DATA EXPUNGED" in bolded brackets, not to mention reference after reference to documents that were most likely not in that binder, if the documents were anywhere to be found. This wasn't a typical mission report; the outline was all wrong. Kakashi wasn't even an _operative_ in the mission... he was a _subject_.

The mission he was supposed to be in was a B rank, and not even a tough B rank considering this was an ANBU mission. This mission was even _finished_, and the team was on their way back to Konohagakure to report. The document hinted, however, that this mission was a cover, but it was hard to say; too many black lines.

Sasuke saw the scene unfurl slowly before him. Kakashi-sensei was there in an ANBU uniform, relaxing in the sitting room of an inn along with three other ANBU that Sasuke did not recognize. One of them might have been the man that was with Naruto and Sakura when they came for him, but he couldn't be sure as they all wore their masks. The other two were women. The brunette sat closest to Kakashi and related stories with him while they lounged. Kakashi seemed very casual with her. His mood was the usual cool mood he normally kept.

There was an explosion, a flash, then debris and smoke everywhere. It was hard to tell what was happening, even while Sasuke had the benefit of the words from the report to guide him. The smoke had gas in it, and there were figures zipping about and seals being activated in the disorienting confusion. The ANBU gave a struggle, but the abduction was still very clean and quick, tactically speaking.

Kakashi-sensei was yelling names until he was knocked out, trying to regain some organization.

Sasuke watched as Kakashi regained consciousness in a small cell without light. He no longer had his uniform on, or even his cloth mask, only wearing battered prison rags, but Sasuke could still not see his face for the darkness. Even when his eyes adjusted, Kakashi's face was no more defined than it was when he wore his mask. A minor point that would have infuriated Sasuke if he wasn't more enthralled by how the situation unfolded.

Kakashi felt around the cell on his hands and knees, shouting names between curses. At first they sounded like ANBU code names, but they dropped as he seemed to get more desperate. Soon there was only one name he called again and again. "Rin."

Eventually another voice could be heard. It was weak, panicked, and seemed to waft from the floor itself. "...Ka... kakashi?"

The jounin went silent, looking unsure. The small voice called his name again and he threw himself towards it. "Rin! Rin, where are you?" He felt out, finding a wall.

"Kakashi!" Sasuke recognized it as the voice of the brunette ANBU. It was coming from a hole in the middle of the wall right where it met the floor. There was a grate going down the wall portion, and the hole itself about twenty centimeters wide and deeper than sight could go in this light. The wall itself was rather thick, so one would have to reach to even touch the grate from either side. The acrid stench that came from it indicated it was connected to a sewer; this shared hole was where prisoners were expected to discharge their waste.

Sasuke stood straight as he watched his sensei calling for Rin through the foul hole and found that the cell was quite short in all dimensions; he could even feel his hair hitting against the ceiling. He wondered if it was to save space or if it was purposely low to merely further oppress the prisoner. His thoughts were distracted as he heard Kakashi try to speak to Rin, but Rin seemed to be having trouble talking.

At the same time as his sensei, he realized that there was a clang of chains coming from Rin's cell. There weren't any chains in Kakashi's room, but they soon understood that Rin had her wrists buckled towards her ceiling. For a long time of Kakashi attempting to talk to her in this condition, to comfort her, with her position limiting her answers by sound and her ebbing will to speak through the strain on her arms and shoulders.

After what seemed like forever, a loud creak erupted from Rin's cell. The door must have opened, as light poured in, harsh to their eyes even though the light was dull. Kakashi could now see the position of her legs with the light: she was resting uncomfortably on her shins while her knees floated over the stone floor. Shadows appeared in the cell with her, and low, male voices rumbled with lusty amusement while Rin's own weak voice lilted through, pleading for answers and help. Then there was a scuffle, and Rin was suddenly screaming in the most piercing scream she could muster.

"NO! LET GO OF ME! DON'T TOUCH ME! STOP!"

Her door slammed shut, but the men stayed in the room with a small light. They laughed and mishandled Rin while she protested their unwelcome touches.

"RIN!" Kakashi shouted. He straightened up and forced his hands through seals, but nothing happened. He tried again, tried a dozen combinations that should have resulted in powerful jutsus, but nothing came. He tried to force chakra into his weakened limbs, but that effort only came up with violent shaking. Damnit, there was a chakra seal on him! He slammed his fists into the wall, prying at the stones, reaching into the putrid hole towards the grate separating him from Rin's cell... He tried anything and everything in vain, screaming her name, screaming at those bastards to quit what they were doing to her, just screaming to drown out the laughs and animal-like grunts of the men, to drown out Rin's wailing.

After it was over and they were gone, leaving the two in the darkness again. Kakashi's throat was scratched to hell and back, his hands dirty and bruised, bleeding between a few nails. Rin was no longer in her manacles, but she was curled up in a corner away from the hole, shaking and sobbing. He tried to speak to her, to comfort her, but his voice was hoarse and cracked. Besides, it didn't seem to help; she just continued to cry.

Their first meal came in some time after that, a small ration: a piece of bread, a thin soup of some kind, and stale water. It went untouched.

Sasuke was disgusted. At first, he wanted to toss away the file and burn it, but he was trapped in watching the rest of this unfold. He wanted to wake up from this dream and take on all the horrors of his personal reality instead. No such luck.

Time passed slowly for the two. Kakashi kept a tally of the days that passed by striking a small rock he managed to find against the wall. However, he had no window with which to guide him about the passage of time, so he went by the assumption that they were fed once a day. That was basically the schedule, but Sasuke saw the tally divulge from reality early on; the feeding schedules were not at all regular, add on to the fact that feedings would be skipped because the guards either wanted to torture/punish the two further or just plain forgot to feed them that day. They didn't even always feed _both_ of them, or if they did, it wouldn't necessarily be at the same time.

There was a bit more schedule in the times they were taken out of their cells—so that they could be continually check the seals and unable to focus or build their chakras. But, because of the sporadic times they would be removed in between, Kakashi wasn't able to see the pattern. He found out that being taken out of his cell meant really only one thing: to be tortured. The room they took him to was cleaner and brighter by far, but they would keep a bag over his head through the walk (it didn't matter; he memorized the number of steps and turns to the room) and would only cut out a quick hole if the torture involved Kakashi being able to see. The Sharingan was ignored more often than not, if only because the of the seal limited his ability to control the eye as well. These were also the only times he was cleaned, albeit in a harsh blast of hot water. Sometimes they'd do similar for his cell while he was out.

Kakashi wasn't sure how to peg the sessions of torture against the isolation. At least it was a change, and everything was cleaner afterwards. Sometimes he preferred it to the numbing from sensory deprivation in the cell, allowing his mind to slowly break down from the under-stimulation, his only source of amusement in examining the walls over and over and talking to Rin. Sometimes, during his more lucid moments, he couldn't tell if being taken out of his cell was another hallucination or not.

And since he only left his cell for those sessions, he determined that when Rin was gone from her cell, it was for the same purpose. Sasuke knew his sensei's guess was correct. But this knowledge made Kakashi anxious while she was gone until she returned, since he couldn't see what was happening, and was afraid that if she didn't come back, he wouldn't know why, and would, eventually, not be able to tell the difference. However, they didn't only torture Rin in that other room; sometimes a bored guard would bring in some tools straight to Rin's own cell. Some other guards just took advantage of having a female prisoner instead. There were even some particularly sick fucks that indulged in both.

Kakashi hated it, and might have preferred the anxiety when she was missing. He could hear every scream and sizzle and whip and chain-rattle in her cell. He would thrash his fists against the wall at first, but that dwindled off eventually. Soon he merely lay in his cell and waited for it to end… sometimes covering his ears, sometimes only lying there. Tears may or may not flow unchecked down his face. Rin also quit screaming and struggling when men advanced on her, except for the times she took advantage and managed to get a quick, unexpected shot in on the guards. They always punished her severely when she did, but it was worth it. Kakashi even smiled when one of them actually tried to force her to use her mouth with disastrous results.

But no matter what, when the men left, Kakashi would go to the hole and ask Rin if she was okay, speaking to her in low tones to soothe and comfort her in any way he could, letting her know that he was there, that there was at least _someone_, even if they were useless like him. Those words did reach her, and she would tell him she was grateful he was there, that he wasn't useless.

Once one of Rin's small bursts of rebellion won them a consolation prize. The guard beat her with his small electric lamp before he stormed out. Kakashi approached the hole cautiously. Rin was oddly silent.

"Rin? Did he hit you hard? Are you conscious?"

Oddly, even though he heard the door slam and the guard leave, there was still light. He watched as it flickered off and on a while, confused. He wasn't sure if that was a hallucination or not, either.

"Kakashi!" he finally heard her say, "Oh, I can't believe it! He left the lamp! And it still works!"

"Really?"

"Yes! Let me bring it over…" The hole got brighter, and Kakashi was nearly pressing his own face in to see. Then, behind the grimy grate, Rin's face appeared, dirty and bruised so much it was hard to make out the purple rectangles on her cheeks, but undeniably real. She smiled as tears made streaks. "I can't believe it. Kakashi, I can finally see you."

"And I can see you. Damnit, Rin, you're the most beautiful thing I ever saw!"

A weak laugh. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm swollen, filthy, diseased, and I have my head in a pit toilet."

"Diamonds can shine through worse, can't they?" She didn't seem to mind the corny line. He tightened his fingers into the grove he'd managed to wear in the stone above the hole. "Oh god, it's so good to see your face. I haven't been able to protect you from this at all, but you're the only thing here that keeps me from losing my mind."

She sniffed and knelt back to wipe her face. "Don't say that, Kakashi."

"It's true! You're all I've got. I wish I could prove how much that means to me, but I can't even keep my promise to Obito. And I know this isn't the future he wanted me to see for him."

"Kakashi…"

"But you're not a hallucination, right? I'm not imagining this? It's convincing if you're not. I think if I woke up and this were a dream, if I didn't see your face, I'd kill myself."

"Don't be so depressing, especially when I feel the same way!" She tried to blink away the tears; they stuck on her lashes like dust and made dots on her darkened eyelids. "I'm just happy to see you again."

The scene was alien to Sasuke. Was his sensei ever this happy as he was here, face first above a sewer, watching for glimpses of his teammate in the adjacent cell? He couldn't personally recall a time. He'd seen him cheery and amicable, but even in the best situations, Kakashi was never so affected as he was in this unlikely situation.

Rin managed to hide the small lamp from being discovered by various methods, including tying it to the chains with a strip of her rags and suspending it down the hole, or hiding it among the pile of rubbish she managed to collect from daily trays of meals. And she rationed its use so they wouldn't drain the battery. Somehow this was all documented in the files Sasuke read regardless.

It came to be the only moments either lived for were those times she cautiously pulled out the lamp and sat it down by the hole, so that the two would just lay there, talking, watching each other in the glow. In this dismal situation, they laughed and joked and played word games with each other as if they were just sharing some time together at their own apartment. There wasn't a subject that they didn't cover, even discussing whether they think the other two teammates from that mission were in here, or if they were safe in Konoha. It was no surprise that they had become the other's world.

They were all they had for three months.

Time didn't pass as laboriously for the observing Sasuke as it did the captives; he was aware of time passing, but he didn't actually feel or experience it even as he watched them feel and experience it, like he was merely reading a book. He was a prisoner in watching, but even if he was able to escape it, he doubted he would by this point. He felt too connected and involved with this distorted love story to not see how it played out, even as he dreaded the sort of end that would come from it. Because even though Kakashi-sensei obviously wouldn't die here, Sasuke doubted he would escape successfully with his teammate clasped safe to his breast.

One more time they brought Kakashi into the room, badgering him with meaningless questions and throwing tortures at him. This wasn't as bad as usual… nothing that would cause physical marks anyway… and it was cut short this time.

"In one week, you and the rest of the ninja that are associated with your crimes will be publicly executed. You may take this interval to decide on a final request."

That was all they offered to him. He tried to ask why he was getting executed, what his crimes were, what Rin's crimes were, but they never offered an answer, as they never did before. He was dragged to his cell and thrown in again, and he quickly realized Rin wasn't in her cell.

Fear seized him worse than before. He seemed unable to decide whether he wanted to be by the cell door or by the hole, so he paced. Not like he didn't pace before, but the only time he paced with such determination in his stride was during the first 48 hours of his incarceration. He flexed his muscles a lot, as if testing them. He tried some hand seals and forced chakra again; he'd been more successful than starting out three months ago from training his body to resist the seal, but he still couldn't pull off anything particularly useful. Still, he looked like he was ready to try.

Rin was returned after what seemed like forever to him, even though she was gone for far less time than she usually was. She immediately went to the hole. "Kakashi?"

"Rin? Are you okay?"

"I... I don't know. Kakashi, they're going to execute us."

He swallowed. "I know."

"...What have we done?"

It wasn't the first time she asked the question, but it wasn't since their torment had just started that the question was anything more than philosophical. Kakashi knew he wasn't guiltless, however; as a ninja, he had racked up a lot of sin in his life. Rin seemed more innocent, but was just as much a ninja he was, just as much likely to be guilty of something in the eyes of others.

"I have no idea, Rin. It could be anything."

There was a silence was more uncomfortable than it should have been. Finally she asked, "Kakashi, what will be your final request?"

"I haven't decided yet. I don't know if I can." There were only a few things Kakashi wanted this moment in life, and those wishes would not be granted.

"Same with me." She was smiling.

Some meals passed after this and they weren't taken for torture, nor did Rin get any more unwelcome visits. The lamp came out rather frequently now, since they figured they should use it while they have it. Its bulb was beginning to flicker and dim from use. They didn't necessarily seem happier by the break they were getting from the torture, now having a due date on their lives. Their spirits did raise, however, as Kakashi told Rin his various plots and plans he was making to escape. Each one seemed as unlikely to succeed as the last, but it was some Hope to cling to. They enjoyed conspiring in the fading glimmer.

A bureaucratic-looking man came soon enough to their cells in order to collect their final requests. He visited Kakashi's cell first.

"I do have a final wish, but..." Kakashi trailed off and stared down at the floor he sat on.

"If it's reasonable, it will be granted. You may have been under a deal of torture up to this point but we make it a point to have our executions follow a stricter protocol, including what proceeds it."

He looked up. Sasuke was confused that Kakashi's eye regarded this man with his usual cool indifference rather than the burning hatred he expected. The Uchiha wouldn't have been able to forgive _anyone remotely related_ to this war crime if it were him kneeling on that floor. Kakashi's request came shortly, "...Is it reasonable for me to marry Rin?"

A brow rose, but the man didn't look particularly surprised. "Oh? You wish to marry prisoner number four-one-six-five?" He didn't pay mind as Kakashi's face darkened in hearing her name replaced with a number. "It's actually not so unusual a request. Quite frequently there are attachments when people share a wall in cells like these. We will allow it. However, she must agree to it, as she will have to give up her own request for it."

"If she has something else she wants to request, then-" Kakashi was interrupted by a great sob from the wall.

"You idiot—" Another sob. "—Of course I'll marry you. I couldn't think of a better use of my last request than to accept your proposal."

"It's settled, then." The man determined he was done here with that and turned. The door opened to a flank of guards. "A priest will come to perform a short ceremony twenty-seven hours before your executions are scheduled. Afterwards, you will be allowed the remainder of your time together." He left.

Kakashi went to the hole. "Rin. You didn't have to. If you would prefer a different use of your final wish, then…" He trailed off.

She was furiously wiping her face. Had she even cried since those tears of joy when she obtained the lamp? Neither Sasuke nor Kakashi could recall. "I want to. If you want me as your wife in this place, then I'd gladly trade a white wedding with any other man for it. Even if it's only because we're about to die."

He took a deep breath and reached out to grip the grate with his fingertips. "When we get out, we'll have another wedding. A real one. I promise."

Rin nodded with her hands covering her face.

One more time, Kakashi was taken out, once again blasted with water while his cell was cleaned, but no torture this time. Before he was taken out of the hygiene chamber, a bundle of cloth was thrust into his arms. He examined it and found it to be his own ANBU uniform, equipment and porcelain mask absent, but otherwise there. He put it on slowly, and found it no longer fit him as well as it did. He had to pull ties a little tighter than he used to. Regardless, he brought the mask up over his face and his hitai-ate down over Obito's eye before he was taken back. They didn't even bother to bag him during the walk this time.

Seeing Kakashi like this in the hallway sent a shiver through Sasuke. This was the first time he saw his old sensei actually looking like himself, and it only deepened that this all did actually happen, that it was all real.

He found his cell had been more than cleaned; it also had a clean (though thin) blanket on the floor, a lamp sitting on top of it. He blinked, not sure what to make of it. In little time, the door opened again. A priest, made tall by his high-toothed geta, stood with an austere expression and his arms folded into his robes. Beside him was Rin, clean and in her own ANBU uniform, also a little looser than it should have been. Behind them guards stood, but Kakashi wasn't even seeing them.

Head down, Rin took small steps into the cell and the priest followed. The door closed behind them as the priest knelt to light the lamp. Rin's face slowly, shyly rose to see Kakashi's. She looked tired and worn. Scars of various sorts that shouldn't have been there marked across her body, and she her sunless complexion showed she was definitely suffering from malnourishment. This was the first time Sasuke got a good look at her, and he wondered how she looked before all this happened. She shifted under Kakashi's scrutiny and, for a moment, looked like she would retreat in demure fear. Kakashi strode forward and engulfed her in his arms before she had the chance. As he nuzzled into her hair, her own arms threw themselves around him and clasped tight.

"I'm sorry I couldn't look any better for you," she mumbled.

"Shh." He ran a hand through her hair and whispered in her ear. "You're the most beautiful bride that's ever been seen."

"…Liar!"

"I am, but not right now."

She burst in an incredulous laugh and pushed away from him. He smiled with his eye and took her hands, gently leading her so they stood before the priest.

When people speak of "modest" weddings, ceremonies that come to mind are those where the bride and groom are in simple, yet formal, attire that they might have borrowed. It's held in a small temple or church with some cheap decorations and only a few friends and family, followed by a potluck gathering at their new home. These nuptials went far beyond "modest" or even "humble", to be held within short, blank walls away from friends, wearing the clothes they fought in, and yet it was as sincere as any. Rin kept her chin tucked and her eyes up to Kakashi throughout, a watery smile threatening to break. Kakashi's eye gazed down in calm warmth.

Her hands came up and hooked on his mask to peal it away. Tears finally leaked in two neat spills when another laugh jumped from her throat. "Looks like I get to take off your mask instead of you taking off my veil."

Kakashi laughed in turn, so that as the mask came down, he was smiling. Still, he wasted little time to lean in and take her lips in his.

And that was it. No rice thrown, no confetti, no chorus of congratulations or noisemakers… just some words and a kiss.

Left alone, they sat with their arms around each other. Their last meals were brought together… tempura udon, broiled fish, rice, and pickles, with a two glasses of juice and a bottle of sake. The portions were actually rather small compared to how big the meal would be typically, but after three months of meager rations they had trouble finishing all of it. They ate what they could and slowly shared the sake between them while they lay on the blanket.

"When we escape and get back to Konoha, I'll make sure you have a beautiful white kimono for the wedding. We'll have it during the spring under the sky, and invite the whole village to come. I bet I can even convince old Sandaime himself preside. Then we'll go to the bathhouse for the reception, and we'll have a banquet."

Rin giggled. "Stop talking like that, Kakashi; you're making me blush."

He rolled over on top of her and trapped her underneath. "And then I'll take you to the mountains for a honeymoon. I'm sure I can get a nice cabin fo—" He was cut off when Rin's hand covered his face. She blinked a few times to keep back any more tears.

"Idiot," she said playfully, "Since when would you gush on like that? Isn't there better things to do with your mouth?"

Kakashi's eye widened as her hand dropped. "Are… are you sure? I don't want…"

"Just live for the day," she declared with a roll in her eyes and boldly grabbed into his hair, forcing his lips to hers. Kakashi actually made a sound of surprise in his throat, and maybe he was a bit shocked that someone as quiet as Rin, who had endured the things she has, would do something like that, but he didn't stop her.

Sasuke turned away and tried to think of a way to leave. Thankfully, walking through the closed door worked for him, and he was able to give the two some privacy. Besides, it was far too awkward for him to watch something like that, even while (after watching this whole thing pan out) he might've _wanted_ them to have some time together. It was strange; he couldn't help but feel like they deserved something better. Why was he concerned?

Time passed almost as an instant, but Sasuke remained outside until guards came down the hallway. They were in long lines, surrounding some chained ninja that looked to be in varying degrees of exhaustion, all pale and too thin for their own uniforms. Sasuke recognized several different hitai-ate, but none of them were Leaf.

The guards that went into Kakashi's cell were armed. There was a shout and suddenly a scuffle. Rin was pulled out of Kakashi's arms while he called after her. She was dragged out first with her hands behind her back. In short order, so was Kakashi. They sneered at their captives, but didn't do any more actions during this walk, glaring and watching while they marched forward with the other ninja. They were lead through the building, through several checkpoints and security areas, before the men ahead pushed open the last double-doors.

Bright! The sunlight was so piercing that each convicted ninja winced from it. Some of the weaker-looking ones actually wailed from the pain to their eyes. Sasuke himself couldn't help but squint from the change, and he wasn't one of the prisoners. It definitely forced the train to stop, though, so the guards had to prod them to walk again. The procession started again, the ninja now sweeping their heads around in wonder, seeing dirt under their feet, the grass by the dirt path, the trees in the distance, the blue sky up above. Many shivered, and seemed intimidated to see such _space_ again, to have no low ceiling above their heads. All of them were at least a little disoriented by the change.

For a moment, the man by Kakashi dropped his guard to scold the shinobi that stopped to stare at the birds above. The ANBU quickly elbowed him and struck the back of his neck when he doubled over, knocking him out. The others were caught by surprise, giving him and Rin enough time to make a break through the gap he just made. He pushed up his hitai-ate and the Sharingan spun. When one of the guards closed in on him, he made hand seals and managed to pull off a rock jutsu that cracked the ground and forced the opponent to fall.

The run to the woods was a long one, much longer than it actually was. Enemies hurried to flush around them while they went. One came up on Rin's side. Kakashi was afraid that she'd be caught, but she turned and made a quick swipe across the man's eyes with her chakra scalpel, followed by a chakra-enhanced punch to his jaw. Kakashi's two eyes went saucer-wide, as did Sasuke, who was following by them unseen.

She glanced over and grinned. "I'm a medic-nin. Even sealed, my chakra control will be far better than the likes of a sloppy genius such as yourself."

Kakashi visibly brightened and continued to run with confidence. Sasuke couldn't help but feel the same way. Maybe they'd be able to get out of this situation after all? Maybe Kakashi-sensei was lying, or maybe they just hated each other afterward and broke up. Better for them to have the time to get tired of each other, right? If she was a medic-nin, maybe she caught something… They were almost to the woods, now. They would almost certainly lose their pursuers and be able to go back home if they reached it.

A kama thunked into Kakashi's back. He fell and enemies were on him before he could get up. Rin ran a bit farther before she realized he wasn't beside her and glanced back. He narrowed his eyes to her while a hand tried to force his masked face into the ground.

"Just run, Rin!" he ordered. _We were able to leave Obito behind, you can leave me behind, too..._

She turned and kept running. Fast, far, she outran her pursuers easily, especially now that so many of them were distracted by Kakashi. But when she reached the edge of the forest, she stopped. Kakashi panicked, but saw that those chasing her stopped as well. A split second later, hooded ninja came out of the woods and surrounded Rin. She lowered her head in defeat and surrendered.

Kakashi cursed into the grass while Sasuke felt something inside of him drop. The ninja were already in the forest, and with their current state, the two would never stand a chance. The whole escape was futile… all that planning… They couldn't fight destiny.

Rin looked apologetically at Kakashi as she was escorted back into the procession, Kakashi himself dragged onto his feet and being physically restrained. When their eyes met, he shook his head, as if to tell her apologies weren't necessary.

The gallows had only one noose, but it had a swarm of people before it, with some important-looking people in elevated seats behind them. The walking-dead ninja squinted at them, then each opened their eyes and gasped in shock. There were daimyo of various countries there. They had their guardian ninja by them.

The Fire Daimyo was there with his _Shugonin Jūnishi_, including Sarutobi Asuma. Asuma recognized Kakashi and Rin and turned pale.

They lined up the prisoners, and the angry guards pulled Kakashi up front for the humiliation he caused them earlier. However, the order hadn't been decided before the ninja that captured Rin started up on the platform with her, disregarding the guards. Kakashi screamed her name and started to struggle again, but he was being held fast this time.

While they were forcing her to put her head through the noose, she managed to meet eyes with Kakashi. "It's okay, Kakashi! Even if it's only for a few minutes, I--!" They tightened the noose on her harshly, cutting her off.

"RIN!"

The daimyo were murmuring to each other darkly, glancing at the stage like there was something wrong. The Fire Daimyo himself rose from his seat, looking confused and upset. However, none of them were giving any orders. Asuma looked around wildly and was shouting something at the other Shogonin Jūnshi. The crowd was a mix of enthusiastic and confounded.

The ninja stepped back from Rin on the platform and stood, waiting in formation.

_"Those people have already been killed."_

Damnit, this just wasn't _fair_.

Boards clanked, and there was a _shunk!_ from the sudden tightening of the rope. The crowd went silent, and the daimyo stiffened. A lifeless Rin barely hanging onto the noose from her broken neck was now twisting the rope and making it creak while she floated underneath the platform. Kakashi went limp as he watched her turning like a haunted house decoration through the wooden beams. He was almost compliant in his shocked state while they began taking him up, but when they released her rope and she crumbled down, undignified, onto the ground beneath, he exploded in rage.

He screamed curses and struggled as violently as he could. By the time they had him on the platform he was getting so difficult to handle that many guards had to shove him into the floor and sit on top of him while they tied his hands again and fixed the noose on him. He kept fighting against them with every piece of his being. The crowd was starting to get loud again. The daimyo were all screaming something above them and their ninja guardians were getting restless. Everything seemed like it was about to escalate and Kakashi couldn't tell _where_ or _why_. Nor did he really care; he just wanted to get revenge for Rin's scarred and broken corpse that lay beneath him. He wasn't just going to roll over and die after what they did! He wouldn't give them the satisfaction!

A different voice boomed in and everything stopped again. Kakashi was able to pivot his neck against the force from the hand trying to hold it his head down and see Sandaime, who was glaring and shouting at the captors about wrongful accusation and cruel methods and disregard for international law.

Sasuke felt sick to his stomach. He didn't want to see anymore. When Kakashi was released and the Hokage took him personally off the stage, he had to look away as the ANBU agent bit into his mask and shivered.

"Why… Just a few minutes… Hokage-sama! _Just a few minutes earlier and…!_"

Sarutobi sat him down away from the people and the confusion. Then he bowed his head in regret. "I am truly sorry, Kakashi."

Sasuke shut his eyes to it and slammed the binder closed, no longer bearing to watch captives of history struggle helplessly towards the end. The temperature changed. He was no longer outside. Knowing that he was back in front of that desk, he gripped his jaws hard. If he opened his eyes and saw that the ninja at that desk had turned into Rin, he knew he would kill himself. He'd rather have seen Itachi. At least he was able to escape the _Tsukuyomi_.

"Sasuke?" A female voice called. "Sasuke, are you all right? Are you finally coming to?"

_No._ "Rin…" Sasuke cringed, shaking his head.

"Sasuke?!" Hands grabbed his shoulders and forced him upright. He opened his eyes to Karin kneeling over him, a blush over her cheeks. "What were you just dreaming about? Was that me you were talking about in your sleep?"

"…Karin?" Sasuke rubbed his wet forehead and looked around in a daze. Suigetsu and Jugo were nearby. He was lying on the floor of what looks like a makeshift hideout. He blinked and shook his head, getting the cobwebs out.

That wasn't the Tsukuyomi that trapped him just now, right? It was just as hard to escape. No, it was harder; he was able to escape the Tsukuyomi with his own eye jutsu. But he didn't feel as terrible afterwards, either. In fact, he only felt a little… _glad_ to see the other members of Taka, to see they were still safe even though he must have been knocked out during that fight. As Karin sighed in relief that he was okay (though tempered by annoyance that he didn't say anything about the dream he had of her), and Jugo gave him a glance of reassurance, with Suigetsu drinking water and pretending he had nothing to do with the situation, he mulled over the feeling it left him.

He saw Kakashi-sensei's face several times in the dream, surely. But he couldn't remember it for the life of him; in fact, the whole thing was already fading from memory like a bad dream, because that's all it was and he knew it. Even now, the closest he could come to remembering it was the laughing smile before he claimed his wife in that shadowy dungeon.

Just bad dream, and maybe it _was_ healthy for him somehow. Maybe it was a good thing to be shown he was only prisoner to his own skull.


End file.
